Five hospitals in Illinois will get money for 14 medical residencies to train doctors. Four of them are in Chicago and one is in Peoria. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth announced the funding today.
Their announcement doesn’t mention St. Margaret’s Health Peru closing Saturday. Hospital officials attribute it partly to staff shortages. The U.S. Senators from Illinois say the funding tries to get more doctors on the job because of a shortage. Durbin says health care professionals are doing their best to meet demand, but more money is needed to deal with staff shortages and improve outcomes. Duckworth says doctors deserve the resources to keep communities healthy.